Donkey Kong Country 2  Diddy's Kong Quest  Redux
by Immortal Monkey
Summary: Once again K.Rool is out for the treasure of the Kongs - The Banana Hoard. However, this time he managed to take its most powerful guardian prisoner and it is up to Diddy, to save the day. Features content of the original game along with elaborate subplot
1. A New Friend For a New Hero

**Donkey Kong Country 2 - Diddy's Kong Quest**

**Chapter 1 - A new friend for a new hero**

It was a hot summerday, usual for DK-Island. Donkey and Diddy were still relaxing from their last adventure they had one week ago. Donkey was wearing his red necktie along with dark sunglasses, lying in a hammock with a wide grin on his face. After all, this was what he enjoyed most. Diddy was lying in an another hammock next to him. He was wearing a red shirt and his trademark cap was slanted down, covering his face. They were not talking much and enjoyed their refreshing banana-milkshakes filled in halfed coconuts with a little umbrella in it. To retrieve the banana hoard, which was stolen by K. Rool, was certainly not an easy task. While travelling through the island to get the scattered pieces of the hoard back, they had to fight Rool's minions, who were guarding them. In the end, the two monkeys encountered him on his ship, the Gangplank Galleon, and fought him. It was an exhausting battle, but in the end they managed to defeat him. To be more precise, Donkey was the one to defeat him. Diddy was not much of a help. He almost got Donkey killed, as he way trying to dodge a cannonball, and his insecurity and fear prolonged the journey. However, he did save Donkey at one point, indicating that he could be a reliable fellow during the adventure at times. As they had returned, everyone on the island joined together to hear the "Tales of the Banana Hoard". Donkey soon became the most popular Kong on the island. Even Funky, who was well-known for his charisma and charme, could not help but to admire him. Being forced not to leave any detail out while telling the story, the big ape failed to see, that all the attention and praise he received went up to his head. As he got carried away in his speech, no one would pay even a glance to Diddy. Instead of receiving praise, he received ignorance as everyone was fully immersed in listening to his friend. He was alone, thrown away like an old, brown banana.

The birds sang their songs while a fresh ocean breeze rushed by.

"Ah, just the thing I need.", Donkey exclaimed, "Finally, this whole hurly-burly is over. I've had enough."

Diddy on the other hand was not happy at all about the current situation. He wanted to straighten things out. Although the little chimp may not have been too helpful, Donkey would not have been able to fulfill their task without him, though that seemed to be of no interest. And when Diddy tried to state his opinion, no one seemed to pay much attention to him or said things like: "I know that already, and then Donkey bend it straight again."

Deep down inside Diddy resented his friend for this a little. "Hey Donkey", he said to his almost sleeping buddy, "May I ask you something?".

"Mhm... what is it?", Donkey muttered, displeased by the fact that Diddy began talking as he had almost fallen asleep.

"How come everyone starts to admire you all of a sudden? What about me, didn't I help?", he said visibly agitated.

Donkey wondered about this question and raised his eyebrow. He responded: "Do you really care about THAT? Don't tell me this is what makes you crazy all day."

"Yes, I do care! It just feels unfair!", Diddy replied with an angry voice.

Donkey sighed and remained silent for a few seconds. Then he said: "Stop making such a fuss about it. What's the big deal? Calm down and let me get some rest already!", he yelled at Diddy and turned his back towards him, achieving a position comfortable enough for him to sleep.

Diddy was appalled. Mad as he became after hearing those cold words, he stood up, took his milkshake, which he had not even drunken halfway up, threw it near Donkey and ran away to the forest. A few moments later the ape looked back in the direction Diddy rushed and thought: _"No need to be worried. He will calm down and come back eventually." _With that, he finally fell asleep under the nice smell of banana-flavoured milk arising from the ground.

_"And he calls himself a friend"_,Diddy thought while running, _"This lazy good-for-nothing always thinks about sleeping and finding the most comfortable way of avoiding work. He defeated Rool? If I hadn't been there to fire the cannonball at that old crocodile, Donkey would've been done for!"_

Still angered about his "friend", the chimp jumped on a branch of a tree, and from there he continued to other trees through the whole forest at his maximum speed. He always did so, when he had to let off steam. After half an hour, he was exhausted and jumped on a rock to rest a bit. The little monkey folded his arms and tried to order his thoughts.

Suddenly his thinking was interrupted by a clear voice saying: "Hey, you there."

Diddy looked around but was not able to see anyone. All of a sudden the leaves above him rustled and out of the branches jumped a monkey right in front of him. It was a female one, around his age. She wore a pink beret, followed up by a long, blonde ponytail. Matching the beret, she wore a pink shirt, which was knotted at the bottom end. Lastly, a finely ground, black stone, tied around her neck, attracted his attention. Her eyes resembled twinkling green emeralds - at least they did to Diddy. He was fascinated.

"That jumping and dashing of yours was very impressive! You are pretty fast." She said.

Diddy, having trouble with bringing out a clear sentence, stuttered: "U-umm... well, thanks."

"You looked very thoughtful sitting there on the rock. Did something happen?", the girl asked with a worried expression on her face.

Diddy had to think inevitably of Donkey again. "Nothing really", he responded silently while turning his face away from her.

The ponytailed monkey was not satisfied with that kind of answer and asked once again: "C'mon, tell me! When a person has a look like this, he sure is depressed."

"Alright, you got a point. Doesn't look like your going to let off, huh?", Diddy sighed, slowly regaining his poise.

The girl smiled triumphantly and Diddy told her what happened. She listened attentively, giving him a comfortable feeling. The longer he talked, the less trouble he had looking directly into her face without starting to stutter again. It felt nice to share his problems with another person.

"That truly is unfair, I feel sorry for you!", she pouted, trying to cheer him up.

"Well, it's alright. Thanks for your sympathies.", Diddy responded, chuckling a little about her face.

A raindrop landed on his forehead as he finished that sentence.

"That's just great, now it's starting to rain", he lamented.

"Yeah", affirmed the pink dressed monkey with an irritated voice, "It's already gotten dark and clouds are appearing. It would be better, if we took shelter somewhere. I know, why don't you come with me to my hut? If we walk along the coast, we can get there in a few minutes. How about it?", she asked with a smile.

Diddy could not deny such an offer, even if he wanted to. He found himself being unable to resist that smile of hers and started to blush. "Y-y-eah, why not?", he stuttered again.

So the monkeys made their way to the hut. They moaned about the weather as they started to freeze, making them hurry up unwittingly. After a while, the girl's hut appeared on top of a few trees near the coast, leaning against a rock wall.

"Here it is", the girl said, "Thanks for tagging along." She smiled at him.

"No problem", replied the chimp, who started blushing once again.

As they climbed up the trees and entered the hut, Diddy was curious as to what he would see in a place inhabitated by a girl. He once entered Candy Kong's hut, which had a completely different interior design than the one he and Donkey lived in. Everything was clean and tidied up, while his home was poorly arranged at the very least. Since then he followed Candy's example and tried to keep their hut as much in order as possible, even though Donkey posed quite a threat to that.

Diddy looked around. It was much smaller compared to his hut, but it seemed to suffice for one person. He saw a bookshelf holding three books, a round table, on which a tumbler containing a few watery pearls was placed, and a chair, which was turned away from the table. The chimp could not make out, what those books were about, but their covers seemed interesting. A dark-green hammock hung a few inches over the floor next to the bookshelf. As he looked out of the only window there was, he could still see the rain pouring down.

"I hope the rain stops soon!", the girl lamented, "Anyway, this is where I live. Not very interesting, is it?", she said with a chuckle.

"Well, I think it's a cozy little place. May I ask when you got here? Can't be too long from now, I'm strolling around this area of the island quite a lot.", Diddy inquired.

"That's true, I've been here only for a few days and wanted to open up to the people living here. I was lucky to run into you, you seem quite alright.", the girl answered with a grin.

"I could say the same about you, too.", he replied with the same grin, "Where do you come from?"

Suddenly the girl's face, which had always radiated energy so far, turned sad and thoughtful. With a concerned voice she said: "Um... you see... I came here from a smaller island with a few friends, who helped transporting everything with a boat and building this hut and all. You probably want to know, why I left my island in the first place. It's because,... well..."

"If you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine by me. I'm sure you have your reasons.", Diddy interrupted. He did not intend to sadden her.

It seemed like this was a relief for the ponytailed monkey. She regained her content face and replied: "Okay, thanks." As she looked out of the window, she noted: "Look, the rain's stopped!"

"Finally!", Diddy approved, "Well, I guess I gotta go now, it's getting late.", he said with a sigh, implying a bit of sadness.

"Oh, well... I think you're right", the girl responded, sharing his sadness. Then her eyes glimmed hopefully and she continued: "Hey! How about meeting up again? Maybe you could tell me something about your adventure then?"

"Really? Are you serious?", Diddy nearly shouted out of surprise. He could not believe how lucky he was. Finally, someone wanted to hear the story from his point of view.

"Is that a yes?", The girl threw him out of his thinking.

"Huh, what? Oh, yeah of course!", he responded enthusiastically.

"Fine then.", she grinned.

It always made her laugh, when Diddy was embarassed or confused. That may have been the reason why she liked him so much and wanted to be with him in the first place. Diddy on the other hand was always happy when he could see her smile. He did not know why, but it grew on him.

"Bye-bye.", the girl accompanied him to the door and saw him off.

"Bye!", Diddy replied.

As he turned around and intended to go, the girl poked him on his right shoulder. The chimp looked over said shoulder and asked with a wondering face: "What's wrong?"

The girl hesitated for a second and then asked with a shy voice: "Well... actually... What is your name?"

Silence.

The two monkeys looked at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly both of them broke out in a long laughter. After they calmed down, Diddy told her his name.

"Diddy?", she smirked, "That's a funny name. It matches you perfectly. Mine is Dixie."

Diddy was not offended at all since he knew that she was just joking. He responded calmly: "Dixie is a funny name as well."

"Fine with me. Well then, see ya tomorrow!", Dixie saw him off happily.

Diddy waved at her and got going. A few steps later he maundered: "Dixie, huh?" It made him smile involuntariliy. He was happy. Happy, because he found someone, who he could call a friend. So he ran home to grant himself some rest. A long march later, he came across Donkey, still lying in his hammock and sleeping tightly. "Who would have thought that?", Diddy moaned, not surprised by the fact, that Donkey did not notice the rain and kept on snoring. The day was exhausting enough for him, so he decided to go to bed right away, resting for the upcoming day.

Diddy had a peculiar dream. He dreamt, he would go on an adventure. He did not know where he was, he just could see himself standing on a ship. There was a lot of fog around and it was dark. But he was not scared, because Dixie stood next to him. She looked up a gigantic mast with a nest on the top and a giant bird flying in circles around it.

The girl said with a intimidated voice: "We have to climb up there."

Diddy wondered: "Why do we? Where are we, anyway?"

Dixie looked startled. "Why? You know why! Because we have to save ..."

Suddenly everything started to blur. Diddy asked hastily: "Who do we have to save? What's going on!"

Then he opened his eyes and awoke with a start. Diddy looked around. He was in his room. "Just a dream...", he said to himself. The chimp got up and gave himself a wash. After that, he went down the ladder to have breakfast. Three bananas and a coconut-half of banana-flavoured milk. Sitting down on a chair and starting to eat, the boy noticed Donkey in front of him, who looked at him with regretting eyes. Diddy tried not to pay too much attention to him, however, the big ape watched his little buddy for a while, like he was trying to find the right words.

Then he said: "Hey Diddy... 'bout yesterday...", he stopped.

Diddy hesitated a second, before he took the next bite.

"Well, to make this whole thing short... I'm sorry about what I said. I know I was being stupid and everything. How about we have some fun together today, like in old times?"

Diddy was suprised about this apology. He did not expect that to happen, but he gave in to Donkey's afflicted look.

"Apology accepted old friend! But...", the chimp hesitated again. Diddy would have gone out with Donkey with pleasure, but a friend waited for him.

"But?", Donkey asked.

"Well... I'm already meeting someone else today.", was his response.

"Who is it?", Donkey inquired further.

"Someone I became friends with. I'm sorry Donkey, maybe another day?", Diddy tried to comfort his friend.

The ape had a sad look, but he did not want to anger his friend again. So he said: "Nah, It's okay! Then tomorrow or something."

"Ya, okay!", Diddy approved, "But tell me... how did you manage to avoid catching a cold while sleeping in the rain like that?", he asked while putting his banana-peels into the trash can and preparing himself to leave.

Donkey thought about this question with closed eyes. "I don't know", he answered, "I've actually never caught a cold before. Cranky says it's because dumb persons rarely get sick, but I'm sure it's just that I've developed a natural resistance! I mean, look at me! I'm strength in form of an ape!", he exclaimed with a big grin.

"Yeah, I'm sure that must be it...", Diddy concurred with an ironic undertone.

He took some banana coin leftovers out of his drawer, because he wanted to treat Dixie for a milkshake. Just as a way of making this new friendship official.

"Well, I'm out for a while. See ya.", he saw off Donkey.

"See ya, Diddy.", his friend replied.

Diddy was glad that his friend apologized to him. But for now he could not get his mind off meeting up with Dixie. He mulled over his dream with her. Wrinkly Kong once told him, that every dream has a reason for being dreamt. He did not really believe in that, but now a strange feeling overcame him. While the chimp was deep inside his thoughts, he did not realize, that he had already reached the meeting point. After looking around for Dixie futilely, he sat down on the rock again, where he rested last time.

Then from above he heard a voice saying: "Hey, Diddy! Watch this!".

Diddy looked in the direction where the voice came from and spotted Dixie. She jumped from a branch and hovered slowly down to the ground by spinning her ponytail with incredible speed. As she landed on the ground, the dust and sand were blown into the air. The chimp was astounded.

"Did you see that? I can do something cool too, hehe!", she said with a grin.

"True. That sure is pretty cool", Diddy approved, "So this ponytail is cute AND useful.", he said without noticing, that he just spoke his thoughts.

Upon hearing that, Dixie had to blush herself for once. Seeing that, Diddy stuttered: "Err... I mean..."

"Thank you.", she interrupted him while shuffling her feet.

"So, umm... would you like to have a drink?", Diddy asked, trying to switch the subject, "I know a pretty good place, where you ought to try a banana-milkshake! It's great!"

"Banana-milkshake? Sounds great, I'm in!", the girl answered excitedly.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I will treat you if you like.", he offered.

"Really? You mean it?", Dixie replied anxiously.

"Yeah, come! Let's go to Funky's. I'll get you acquainted with him and the others here", the chimp grinned.

Funky Kong had a second occupation since his workshop was not very active, as no one had anything to repair. His creation, the "One and Only Banana-Milkshake With Extra Coolness, Dude!", made him known as the best shake-maker on DK-Island, thus his bar flourished. Flavouring coconut-milk with bananas concluded in a new, tasty drink, which was loved by every Kong.

They walked about ten minutes, while Diddy gave his new friend a pretaste of his story. Dixie listened to him carefully and thought, that this adventure seemed quite exciting.

As they approached the shop, Funky greeted them. "Yo, monkey dudes 'n dudettes! Come over 'ere and have a drink! Oh! Who might this cutie over here be?", he asked, while lifiting his shades to get a better look.

"Hey there, Funky! Let me introduce Dixie to you. She's arrived not too long ago and she wants to try your specialty. I hope you'll get along. We take two banana-milkshakes." Diddy ordered.

"Hah, once you've tried it, you'll keep coming back for more, lemme assure you! Two banana-milkshakes, are on the way!" Funky responded with his usual, relaxed voice.

He left for the room, where the coconut-milk was being held. The monkeys sat down on the chairs, waiting for their drinks and listening to the radio playing a catchy song.

"Looks like a strange guy to me.", Dixie uttered nonchalantly.

"Yeah, he is strange alright. But once you get to know him, he's actually quite okay.", Diddy replied.

Dixie wondered: "Diddy, you said you wanted me to get acquainted with everyone here, which I appreciate. But didn't you also say, you're rather upset about how everyone treated you?"

"So what?", Diddy answered flat out, "It's true, I'm still upset. But I'll find a way to prove them all wrong. Besides, I can't go on living here in seclusion and there has to be someone, who'll introduce you to them. As I said, this is a very nice place - for the most part. Crazy things happen here all the time, like a few months ago, when Funky tried out this other invention of his! Let me put it like this: A few of us still hold a grudge against him for that."

Dixie had to laugh about that. "Yeah, he seems like that kind of person. But you are rather confident. I find that quite impressive."

"Well, I do what I can.", Diddy replied with a wink. Then he continued with his story:

"Right, where did I stop? Oh yeah. So there was that giant Gnawty and he jumped right in our direction! I have no idea how it got so big, it must have had something to do with those experiments in the KremKroc Industries. Anyway, I cartwheeled forward while it was in the air, using the gap to dodge the attack, while Donkey jumped back to gain distance. Now the creature was encircled by me, at the rear, and Donkey, facing him. Donkey dashed forward, gathering all his strength into one punch and landing it right into the face of the critter. The beaver-thingie didn't expect that and took the full hit. Due to the impact, it was thrown back, whereas I jumped on a ledge. I took a rock, embraced it and jumped off, right down to the monster. Still knocked out from Donkey's hit, it couldn't move, so I managed to ram the rock right into its stomach. It sounded like the earth was quaking as I hit it. It was a thrilling atmosphere, full of tension. It released a painful screech and with that, it fell unconscious. Donkey and me retrieved a part of the banana hoard and took it back to its place. As you can see, Dixie, it was not easy to get the bananas back. The travelling was exhausting and the fights were debilitating."

The girl was impressed again, her jaw dropped due to the anticipation. She had never expected that Diddy was able to do such a thing. After hearing this story, a feeling, which had been sleeping inside of her, suddenly awoke to its fullest. The spirit of adventure. It was always there, Dixie kenw that. However, it seemed now that the boundaries were finally broken down. She could barely sit still on her chair.

"Wow! That is so... I can't even find a proper word to describe this! I really envy you.", Dixie admitted.

"You envy me? Why is that?", Diddy asked doubtingly.

"Well... you are going on adventures and everything... having fun, experiencing thrills like that... but me...", the girl turned her eyes towards the ground, futiley trying to hide the sadness in her eyes and her voice.

"Alrite, 'ere you go!", Funky interrupted, appearing out of nowhere, "That makes two coins then."

Diddy looked at him with a grumpy face, expressing to him that he ruined the whole atmosphere.

"What?", he wondered, "C'mon, What have I done wrong this time!"

"Forget it... here, your money.", Diddy grumbled.

Funky took it and shook his head. "Youngsters...", the ape grunted while going back into the storage room.

"Go ahead, enjoy your drink." Diddy gave one coconut-half to Dixie and began to drink his own.

"Thanks again.", she replied, trying to reward him with another smile and beginning to drink as well.

Diddy tried to get back to what Dixie was saying: "Go on, Funky interrupted you."

"It's alright. I don't want to bother you with it.", the girl said with a kind of depressed voice.

Diddy hated that. He hated to see her in a mood like this, so he wanted to cheer her up. "You won't, Dixie. I talked the whole time and you listened to me, so I will do the same thing for you now. Tell me about your life."

Dixie was actually happy that Diddy picked up the topic again. After all, she had something she wanted to get her mind off as well. She took in a deep breath and began to tell him about her life before she came onto DK-Island: "My life has never been very interesting. I never went on an exciting adventure or something like that. I never went to any dangerous places. Maybe because my parents prevented me from it. Well, who could blame them? That's what I think now, but back then I couldn't stand it. I've never had the courage to do something against their will. It's funny, isn't it? They dedicated their lives to exploring unknown places and discovering ancient artifacts, bringing themselves into more danger than I could possibly ever have. Since they spent so much time going on their journeys, I was more or less raised by my auntie. She was very nice to me, though. While my parents brought me a nice thing from their excavations every now and then, I still felt lonely. But it's not like they didn't try to spend time with me, either. Everytime they left, they did so with a sad look on their face. I never got a chance to ask them, why they won't settle down. I've always wanted to make the time we did have together worthwhile. Well, a few years ago, when they embarked on another journey, they..." Dixie suddenly stopped and looked down towards the ground again. It seemed as though she was troubled by what came to her mind.

Diddy was worried. Did he make her remember something unpleasant? Was it his fault, that the girl sitting in front of him verged on tears? Again he had to deal with this insecurity he hated so much. He tried to calm himself down and said with a soft voice: "Dixie, I'm sorry. If you don't want to tell me, that's fine."

The girl raised her head again. She looked right into Diddy's eyes, and she did so with a heart rending expression. With a weeping voice she tried to piece her last sentences together: "They... They never... They just never came back! It's like they vanished into thin air! Usually they were out for a few days, a week at most. Friends of our family decided to start looking for them, but it was all to no avail. I had no idea what I should think at this point. Perhaps they just died an unnecessary death. Perhaps they left me there, because they were unable to live with the fact, that they had a daughter constantly waiting for them in their home village. To this very day, I still don't know, why they kept on journeying. Is that what an adventure is about? Leaving the ones you love behind? Or maybe, in reality, they didn't love me at all. So many thoughts rushed into my head, I felt like it would explode! I was so confused... and to tell you the truth, I still am.", Dixie stopped there, holding on to her necklace. Her eyes were still focused on the chimp's face, which, as the narration progressed, turned more and more horrified. Diddy did not know what to say. This story exceeded his expectations by far. For a second, he wished he could take his _"Go on, Funky interrupted you."_ back. But then he realized, that his new friend, sitting in front of him, was in trouble, and that he had to find a way, to help her out.

Diddy sighed, trying to relieve himself of the stress. Then he placed his hands on Dixie's shoulders and said the following with a serious mien: "Relax, Dixie. Didn't you just say, you always wanted to go on an adventure? Why do you suddenly think to negatively about it? I, for one, can't believe your parents _"abandonded"_ you, or died _"unnecessarily"_... and I'm sure neither do you. If I had to guess, I'd say this necklace of yours was a gift from them, am I right?", he asked. Dixie's face had a surprised look on her face, indicating that Diddy's deduction was correct. "Seeing that you're still carrying it around", he went forth, "I suppose you want to have something, that reminds you of them. I know you want to believe, your parents loved you and their sudden disappearance had a purpose. That's exactly the point. Unless anyone can prove this otherwise, you have to believe, that your parents are out there somewhere, waiting for you."

The ponytailed monkey sobbed. Salty, watery drops were running down her cheeks. It was a truly depressing sight for Diddy, seeing the girl he found himself grown so attached to - despite the fact, that they had known each other for barely a day - in tears like that. Without any further thinking, he took Dixie into his arms and consoled her. The girl was surprised at first, but did not offer any resistance. They remained like this for a while with closed eyes, leaving time for the chimp to process what was happening: _"What's going on? Here I'm holding a girl I hardly know... She must have lived on carrying all these terrible memories inside of her, without telling anybody about it. What I've been through is nothing compared to this. I don't know why, but I feel like I just can't leave her like that! From now on, I will help her make fond memories. If there's only been darkness in your past, it's time to make a stand and bring light into your future. Even if it should just be the two of us... Heh, what am I dreaming about again? As if I'd be able to do that. I'm such a fool... For now, all I can do is try to comfort Dixie as best as I can."_

The girl calmed down and the monkeys let go of one another.

"You alright?", Diddy asked with a worried tone.

"Yes.", Dixie wiped away the last tear from her cheek, "I don't know what to say. It just overwhelmed me all of a sudden. I'm sorry.", she apologized.

"Hey, there's nothing to be sorry for. After all, we're friends, right?", the chimp winked.

"Right! Thank you!", the ponytailed monkey exclaimed, regaining her smile, which was so precious to Diddy. "So, how about you show me your home, then?", she suggested.

The chimp ignored the fact, that Dixie had cut off midway in her story and agreed to a change of subject. "My home? Well, I see nothing that would speak against it, so why not? But I have to warn you: the guy I'm living with is a bit... um, you'll see.", he replied with a chuckle.

"Sounds interesting enough already. I'm right behind you!", Dixie said eagerly.

So the two left Funky's bar and made their way to Donkey's and Diddy's hut. While they were walking, they talked, made jokes, did things to make time pass. Dixie's mood improved gradually over the course of time. As they reached the hut, Diddy looked out for his buddy, who - to his surprise - seemed to have gone out. "Hmm.. He is probably at the beach or something... I'm afraid you won't be able to see him. Maybe that's for the better, anyway.", he grinned, "But he sure did leave quite a mess in here. Well, this is the hut of Donkey and me. It's not that great, but you can live here."

"I see". Dixie replied, while having a look around. It was less messy than she expected. A few banana-peels here and there, things from breakfast were still on the table, but nothing too out of the ordinary. A ladder was leading up to a second floor where the hammocks were.

"When will he ever tend to his cleaning-duties, I wonder.", Diddy sighed. "I really have to talk about that with him."

"So this is where you live. It's a bit more spacious than my hut, I'll give you that!", the girl admitted jokingly.

"If you live with someone like Donkey, it's kind of required, yes.", the chimp chuckled, "So how about visiting the others?", he asked.

"You wanna leave already?", Dixie wondered, "Well, okay then."

Next up was Cranky Kong, who had his hut in on the treetops near the center of the island. His senile character and constantly nagging demeanor surprised Dixie a little, but she could see, that he was just not giving in to his age. After all, when it came to dire situations, he was some kind of leader for the kongs, as he always had an appropiate solution at hand. Then again, his nagging and self-praising were ignored by the others for the most part and he often ended up telling all the great deeds he had accomplished to himself, rather than to the others. But still, Dixie found him to be a nice, caring character.

Wrinkly Kong welcomed the ponytailed monkey wholeheartedly to DK-Island. Not only was she wise and had some advice for anyone who had to cope with a problem, she also owned a huge library about ancient folklore and the like. While she often got carried away when talking about history, Wrinkly always offered a helping hand and had a warm presence. Dixie grew quite fond of her, since she reminded her of her aunt.

Candy Kong, the girlfriend of Donkey, never minced matters, when it came to talks about her boyfriend. Whether he was around or not, Candy always found something that annoyed her about him. How she and Donkey could still be together remained a mystery to Dixie, and to every other Kong for that matter. However, she was very kind to Dixie and offered her advice in the cases of boys and everything related.

Swanky Kong was always ready for a game - a game of luck, that is. He offered ten different kinds of gamble to Dixie and guaranteed, that none of them were rigged. While she wanted to try her luck, Diddy highly recommended not to give in to temptation. Despite that, Dixie won a few coins to the surprise of both Diddy and Swanky. With that, she was the only one to have ever won a game over at his place.

Lastly, Diddy showed her the cave in which the banana hoard was stashed away. The girl was quite surprised by the amount of bananas she saw in front of her. All of them seemed to glow mysteriously and she wondered, if they were edible by any chance. However, the chimp warned her of Cranky's wrath, should she even think about it.

Now that Dixie knew her way around and befriended almost all of the Kongs over the course of the day, she parted ways with Diddy.

"Whew, what a day. Thanks a lot for showing me around, Diddy!", she said with a content face.

"No problem, it was a lot of fun.", the chimp replied.

The ponytailed monkey yawned. "Oh boy, am I tired. I think I'll head home for now.", she mumbled.

Diddy concurred: "Yeah, me too. We've spent the whole day wandering around the island."

"Do you have time again tomorrow?", Dixie inquired, "At our usual place?"

"Sure, I'd love to...", as Diddy wanted to finish his sentence, the conversation he had with Donkey popped into his mind. _"Oh right, I promised him."_, he thought with a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry, I don't have time tomorrow. Perhaps some other day?", Diddy went on with a disappointed look in his eyes. It hurt him to say that, since he really enjoyed hanging around with Dixie.

"Oh, I see. Yeah, that's fine with me!". the girl responded with a smile, trying to conceal her disappointment.

"Okay then, see ya around!", Diddy waved at her.

"See ya!", replied the ponytailed monkey.

For some reason it did not occur to Diddy, that it might work to spend a day together with both Donkey and Dixie. When he was with her, he wanted to be with her alone. As he had reached his hut, the chimp hoped to find Donkey, but there was still no sign of him. Since he was exhausted from all the walking, he climbed up the ladder leading to his hammock and decided to get some sleep first. If Donkey should not have returned by then, he would go out and search for him.

To his displeasure, Diddy did not dream again. The reason for that may have been the fact, that worry was written all over his face. After getting up, he went down immadiately and almost slipped down the ladder. No sign of his friend. It was nighttime, but Diddy still prepared himself for going out, as he cared neither about time nor weather, when it came to his friends. The first location he chose to look for Donkey was the beach. The chimp walked along the coast, hoping to find any clues to the whereabouts of his friend.

"_I really chose a good time to look for him."_, he said to himself ironically,_ "You can't see the hand in front of your eyes!"_ As he walked along the coast, the only thing he could hear was the constant brawl of the ocean against the beach in a perpetual rhythm. However, after a few more steps another noise interfered and Diddy tried to make out the direction it came from. He approached the source of the noise on silent toes and as he shoved some leaves of a bush by, someone familiar appeared in front of his eyes: Funky Kong. It seemed like he was working on something.

"Hey Funky, you up already?", Diddy greeted him.

Funky winced and almost hurt his hand with a saw. "What the... Diddy! What are you doing here?", he asked in surprise.

"Well, I'm looking for Donkey. He hasn't come home since yesterday and I am starting to get worried. Have you seen him?", Diddy answered with a concerned voice.

"Nope, can't help ya mate. Haven't seen him since either, man. I'm also wondering where the heck he disappeared off to, since he still owes me money. Sounds serious, d'ya mind if I stick around with you and help searching?", Funky suggested.

"No, I don't mind. I actually appreciate it.", the chimp replied, visibly relieved about a helping hand.

"Alright, lemme just hide my board there real quick.", the ape insisted.

"What were you doing here, anyway?", Diddy wondered.

"As you can see, I worked on ma surfboard. It had taken breakages here and there from my last ride on the waves, man, so I repaired it.", Funky answered in a manner, it would have made you think, it was the most natural thing in the world.

"During the night!", the boy exclaimed, not being convinced in the least.

"Umm... yes?", was the blatant response he got.

"Whatever.", Diddy shook his head, "Okay then, let's go."

They continued walking along the coast while inspecting treetops and caves, since Donkey tended to fall asleep quite fast and did not bother with the place, where he got his rest. As they nearly had circled around the complete coast of the island, the sun appeared on the horizon and began with its duty to vanquish the dark night. Funky concluded: "I guess we're wrong here, Diddy-dude. He could be anywhere... where do you suggest we look next?"

"Umm... I'm not sure.", The monkey sighed, but soon after that he yelled: "We must not give up! Donkey is my friend, and therefore I will turn the whole island upside down if I have to!"

"Relax, dude.", Funky tried to calm him down, "Donkey is my pal as well and ..."

"Look! Over there!", Diddy interrupted him and pointed at the ocean. Since the sun had arisen, he was able to make out a bottle floating in the water. Inside of it was a piece of paper. Before Funky was able to realize, what was going on, Diddy had already jumped into the water in order to grab the bottle. As he returned, filled with anticipation, he opened it and pulled out the paper which appeared to be some kind of letter. "Come on! Read it already.", Funky urged the chimp. Diddy cleared his throat and began to read:

_Foolish Kongs!_

_I, Captain K. Rool, have captured this fat gorilla of yours as well as his stupid little fellow. I will not harm them, unless you oppose my demands! Hand me over the treasure and I will let them go... perhaps. The exchange will be performed on my island. And don't even think of coming up with one of your lousy tricks!_

"Hey! Who is a stupid little fellow!", Diddy shouted angrily and frowned.

"Calm down, Diddy-dude, don't ya think something's strange?, Funky noticed.

"What do you mean?" Diddy wondered, as he went over the letter again. "Ah, I got it! Well, yeah, you are right. It says he captured Donkey and umm... me... but I'm here... or not?", Diddy asked, visibly confused.

"Pretty sure you are, mate.", Funky answered.

"Okay... wait, WHAT! Donkey has been abducted? Oh for the love of bananas! No surprise we can't find him. We've got to tell the others!", the chimp exclaimed.

"Good call. Let's push the panic button!", the ape agreed.

As soon as Funky had finished his sentence, both monkeys rushed to the place, where the giant bell was held. This bell served as a device to inform all the inhabitants of DK-Island, that there was an emergency. Upon reaching it, Funky pulled the vine, which was connected to the bell. A loud, clangorous sound echoed through the whole island, waking up every single living person and animal. Only one minute had passed until Cranky had arrived. "What's going on? Why did you ring the bell?", he asked with a startled voice.

"I will explain everything once the others are here, Cranky.", Diddy responded.

"They'd better hurry up then", Cranky nagged.

Soon Wrinkly, Swanky, and Candy arrived as well. Everyone was upset and curious as to what was going on.

Diddy cleared his throat and spoke with a loud voice: "Okay everyone, listen up! This is very important. Our friend, Donkey Kong, has been abducted by , whom we thought we had defeated. He suggests a trade. It says here in the letter, which Funky and I found during our search for Donkey, he wants some kind of treasure in order to release him. But something seems odd about it, since it also states, that I've been captured as well. As you can see, I am standing right here, though. Anyway, we got to save Donkey at all costs! Can anyone come up with an idea?"

Everyone was startled and began to talk, which concluded in a big, disordered bunch of words.

"Silence!", Cranky shouted all of a sudden, obtaining the attention of the other Kongs, "First we need to know why exactly wants that treasure so badly. I'm assuming, he is talking about the banana hoard. It's quite obvious, that Donkey poses a threat to 's plans, hence he was abducted. I don't know, how that happened, and I also don't have any clue whatsoever, what the meaning of that supposed second abduction is. However, what I do know is, that we have to rescue Donkey and find out what Rool is up to."

"I agree with you, Cranky.", Diddy threw in, "And I just might have an idea, where we can get that informaton. Perhaps we can find something on the Gangplank Galleon."

"Mhm, for now, it seems that this is our only possibility." Cranky responded, "Good, then we need...", as Cranky intended to finish his sentence he got interrupted by Diddy, "I will go!"

"You? Alone?", Cranky asked doubtingly.

Suddenly a voice particularily familiar to Diddy sounded out of nowhere: "He won't be alone, I will go with him!"

Everyone was wondering, what that was all about and looked in the direction the voice came from. Suddenly Dixie jumped from a huge palm leaf right in front of Diddy. "Hey there, I heard this really loud noise and came here to check it out. So, your friend has been abducted, huh?", the girl inquired, "Let me help you out!"

Diddy was surprised. After a moment of hesitation, he wanted to make sure, that she knew what she was doing: "Dixie, you know that this is going to be dangerous? Think about what you said yesterday." he said.

"I don't mind. I want to find out, if what you told me is true. This could become quite the adventure, after all.", she responded calmly, "Besides, we're friends, and friends are supposed to help each other when necessary, right?", she said with a grin.

Cranky grumbled. "Adventure? I have a feeling, this will become very dangerous and you talk as if everything is just a game and will work out for certain."

Dixie looked afflicted after she heard that, but it was reason enough for Diddy to yell at him: "You don't have the slightest idea of what she has gone through. She knows well enough, that an adventure is not a game..."

"Stop, Diddy, it's alright.", Dixie begged him. The chimp sighed and folded his arms, trying to calm himself down.

"Fine then," Cranky grunted, a little surprised, that Diddy suddenly went up against him.

In the end everyone agreed to the plan. Since Funky had his flying machine, things worked out pretty well. As the three prepared for the flight, Dixie turned to Diddy and thanked him: "Thanks for defending me there."

Diddy wondered about that and replied: "Huh? Well, I just can't stand it, when someone claims to know everything and tries to me Mr. Smarty-Pants without knowing the actual details.", but the chimp was still surprised, that he had the guts to do that. Normally, he would have just shrinked down and received the harsh words. Since he was meeting up with Dixie, he began to change. That much he realized.

"Well, thanks anyway.", the girl grinned.

As everyone entered his flying machine, Funky shouted: "Okay, lil' monkeys! Next Destination: _Gangplank Galleon!_"


	2. Welcome to Crocodile Island

**Chapter 2 - Welcome to Crocodile Island**

The "Flying Barrel", how Funky had named his machine, was a barrel with wings attached at the sides, a propeller added at the front and an oar fastened at the stern, everything made out of wood. The airfoils were beautified with paintings, resembling small targets and the oar was colored in stripes with the same tint. By the sheer looks of it, you would not have thought it was possible to fly with that. The seats in the machine were rather small but still comfortable enough for Diddy and Dixie. However, its noises sounded like it was going to break any second, inducing a reasonable amount of fear in Dixie:

"Are you sure this is safe?", she asked with a scared voice.

Diddy laughed at her and responded: "Don't you worry, although this machine doesn't look like it, Funky cares about it very much and he knows what he is doing. Look, isn't that a beautiful view?"

The girl wondered. Now that she looked around, her fear had vanished. While the cold breeze wafted in their faces, the ponytail of Dixie streamed along the wind, which she enjoyed with a big grin. Diddy, however, pulled a worried face and mumbled: "I wonder how Donkey's doing..."

Slowly regaining his consciousness, Donkey found himself lying in a cave, locked up in a small dungeon. He looked around and noticed two Kremlings guarding his cell. One of them was green, the other one had a brown touch. Both of them wore ragged pants and raddled shirts. They were talking to each other and Donkey tried to catch a few words.

"D-d-do you think, w-w-will get mad when he h-he-hears, that we failed?", the green one asked. Donkey was unable to tell whether the Kremling was just scared or stuttering by nature.

"I think so, since he goes all crazy about his new plan. We didn't fail completly, though.", the brown Kremling responded in a calm manner, "But I was thinking about getting away from here... his wrath will be ridiculously great, like always."

"B-b-but he will catch you and K-KILL you in a painful w-way!", was what the green Kremling replied, displaying a clear sign of fear in his voice.

"He will do so either way. Whether he notices, that we just came back with only one of them or... hey look! The princess finally woke up!", the brown Kremling grinned in an evil way.

"Let me out of here", Donkey shouted and tried to stand up, only to realize the cuffs, which prevented him from moving his feet and arms. "Damn!", he yelled, "Where am I!"

Seeing that, both Kremlings broke out in a loud laughter. However, this laughter lasted only for a few seconds, as a third Kremling, who seemed to have a higher rank than the other two, called for them. "Well", the brown one said, again with an evil grin, "Enjoy your sojourn here at 's Keep." He signified his green friend to follow him and went away.

Many creatures in different colors and shapes gathered in a big hall, which was only lightened by some weak rays of the sun as the red curtains were covering up most of the walls, which were plastered all over with cracks. The floor was covered with mud and sand, to which also the red carpet, crested with golden crocodile head symbols, fell prey. The carpet was leading up from the entrance to a table, on which a map and a big book with a dark-red cover were placed. The creatures bowed down and looked up servilely to the fearsome lord of the Kremlings, who was sitting on a chair behind the table.

_Captain _

The humongous crocodile watched over his minions and enjoyed the silence. A golden plate was strapped around his bulge, serving as an armor and a noble, red coat enlaced it. Huge, green hands came out of its sleeves, one holding a gigantic gun, capable of firing a whole cannonball, and one resting on the table. Only would have been in the physical condition to wield such a weapon. His head was adorned by a black pirate hat, that intensified the effect of his black, crazed eyes. As began to speak, a loud and strong voice filled the room:

"How did the operation proceed? Were you able to catch them? I do hope so for your sake, otherwise...", he took his gun and loaded it with a cannonball, "... You will be the first ones to get acquainted with my new weapon!"

One Kremling whispered to his neighbor: "S-s-see? I t-told you. Oh, w-we are gonna die..."

"Shhh! He will hear you!", the neighbor responded.

"What was that? What are you two whispering? You there, green one, give me your report!", demanded, again with his strong voice.

The scared Kremling stood up, his face had become white and his knees were shivering.

"W-w-well, I..., we..., the m-m-mission...", he had trouble to bring even a single word across his lips.

"Stop that babbling already! What became of your task?", the captain yelled.

Then the other Kremling stood up and reported: "I am sorry, Captain, but we were only able to catch one of the filthy monkeys. The small one was nowhere to be found. But give us one more cha..."

"Quiet you!", interrupted him, "So you want to tell me you failed?", he inquired with a voice, expressing half anger and half delight.

"Not at all, since we...", the brown Kremling tried to defend himself: However, he got interrupted by a sudden loud bang, as if a cannonball had been fired. It came out of 's direction and ended as fast as it appeared with a nasty noise. The green Kremling was pushed into the wall by a spike-covered cannonball. A small blood-runnel flowed out of the crack onto the ground. Steam was floating above the gun, which , who stared at the dead Kremling with crazed and delighted eyes, was wielding. He cackled devilishly.

"This means you were able to just take care of Donkey Kong?", concluded, "That's not so bad, my plan won't fail because of the small one. They are possibly trying to rescue our big friend here, though... So we just have to get rid of them one by one. I thought of a less complicated way, since a direct assault wouldn't have worked out. The power these dirty apes hold in their hands right now is just too strong. I'm not even sure whether they know, just HOW powerful it is. But it can't be helped now. Have my island be observed at all times and if you spot them, notify me immediately. Go now! Oh, and Lurk... I appoint you to the commandant for this mission."

The other Kremlings were still in a state of shock but they were not keen on losing their lives as well. Especially the brown one, who gave himself the name "Lurk". As he left the room, he mumbled to himself "Someday I will make you pay for that, !"

"Is this it?", Funky asked his passengers.

Diddy took a look out and spotted the ship. "Right down there!", he approved. Funky managed to dive down and right before the barrel would have crashed into the ship, he hoiked the steering wheel and landed softly on the ship's deck. Whilst diving, Dixie screamed in fear, closing her eyes and clinging herself to Diddy, who was surprised and started to blush involuntarily. As everyone got off the barrel, they took a look around. The bow of the ship had collided with a huge rock shooting out of the island. The figurehead, which resembled , was cracked, its reverent look turned ludicrous. Thick green lines of algae vegetated along the hull, hiding the gilded keel. Derelict sails were attached with filthy ropes and both were softended by humidity. Seemingly ready to capsize, the chunky mast soared dangerously high towards the sky.

"So, now we are here but... where are we supposed to go?", Dixie asked as she glanced around, "This ship is huger than it looked from above."

"I guess we have to search the cabins. We should hurry, let's go!", Diddy suggested.

"Umm, monkey-dudes? If ya don't mind, I will guard my little baby here.", Funky said.

"Guard?" Who do you want to guard it from? This ship is abandoned... Could it be, that you are scared?", Diddy teased him.

"Diddy-dude, the word _fear_ is unknown to me! But I think something's strange 'ere. Besides, it was a long flight and I need to take care of the barrel, as we intend to leave this place sometime, don't we?", Funky stated his point.

"Let him be, Diddy. I think it's a good idea to leave one of us here.", Dixie threw in.

"There you have it!", Funky laughed mockingly. Diddy sighed and looked around once again. They were situated in the stern. To get to the captain's cabin, they needed to reach the bow, as the information they were looking for were most likely being held there.


	3. Pirate Panic

**Chapter 3 - Pirate Panic**

With Funky left behind, Diddy and Dixie began their investigation. The deck showed several cracks and the monkeys had trouble not to trip. Strong waves caused the ship to shake, barrels and crates were stacked near the railing and some of them were tumbled over, blocking a door.

"Let's try it here, help me moving these things.", Diddy suggested.

As Dixie was about to, she noticed something. The containers were rather easy to move. After opening one to clear her suspicion, she came to the result, that nothing but emptiness was inside.

"Hmm... hey Diddy, isn't it strange that these crates and barrels are all empty?", she inquired Diddy's opinion.

"Now that you mention it... I wonder what was stored in them - and more importantly: did retrieve it? To hide it from others? Something's fishy here. Let's go on.", Diddy responded.

With the last crate pushed aside, the way was free. An ocolus was inserted in the wooden door, allowing to take a glance into the cabin. They entered and it turned out, that this was the caboose. This room was in a relatively good shape as opposed to the rest of the ship. Many different cooking utensils were hanging from the wall, looking all clean and intact. A pan was laying on the range.

"By the looks of that, I am starting to get hungry!", Dixie joked.

However, this did not appeal to Diddy at all. "It looks like it has been used recently.", he mumbled. Suddenly a noise came out of the adjoinig room. It sounded like someone was walking and coming closer. The monkeys heard him swearing: "Yuck! This food tastes like..." at the same time, this certain someone opened the door and spotted Diddy and Dixie. It appeared to be a Kremling with a plate in his hand. Both sides remained silent until the crocodile threw the plate away and ran back, screaming:

_"They are here! The Kongs are here!"_

"What are the Kremlings doing here!", Diddy wondered, "This is bad, really bad."

"Well, at least we can safely say, that those crates and barrels were just containing food supplies.", Dixie pointed out.

"Yeah, I agree, but now that we are discovered, we have other problems to deal with. That's a great start, we haven't found anything yet and are on the run already. We can't leave until we found clues about 's plan. C'mon, Dixie!", Diddy ran out of the caboose.

"Right you are!", Dixie followed, "But what about Funky? Will he be alright?", she worried.

"It'll be alright. He may not look like it, but he's a tough guy. He'll find a way.", Diddy assured.

They went up the stairs, which led down to the caboose, running along the deck only to be surprised by Kremlings blocking their path. One of them had an eye patch and an evil grin on his face. He wore a red headband and a blue coat, looking like the captain of the crowd. Like the others, he owned a saber, which was attached to his belt. With a croaking voice he shouted: "Catch 'em!" The underlings cackled and swooped down on the monkeys.

"This looks like a bad situation!", Dixie exclaimed.

Diddy did not waste any time and looked for a way to escape. As he spotted a barrel, the chimp grabbed it and threw it at the approaching enemies, hoping to take out most of them. However, his targets managed to avoid the barrel by jumping over or away from it. With a loud crash it bursted at the wall. "They are not as dumb as they used to be.", Diddy noticed disappointedly.

Then Dixie poked him on the shoulder to gain his attention. "Do you see this rope?", she pointed backwards, "Maybe we can use it and climb up to the mast. From that point, it should be easy to get to the bow."

"Good idea!", Diddy agreed with her plan. Both monkeys rushed for the rope, turning their backs to the Kremlings, who were closing in on them. Since Diddy was faster than Dixie, he was the first to reach the rope. He climbed up, so the girl had enough space to hold onto the rope as well. Right before one of the Kremlings could swing his sword at her, she jumped off and clinged herself to the rope, releasing a sigh of relief. "Too slow!", she teased the Kremling afterwards.

Diddy could not help but to grin. "We don't have time for this, catch up.", he said calmly, while climbing up to the top.

"Thinking to get away that easily...how foolish. Alert the _Klingers_!", the captain demanded.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?", Diddy mentioned, as he waited for his approaching comrade.

As Dixie reached the top a few seconds after him, she agreed: "Well, we got out without any injuries... So yeah, I guess."

Now balancing along the yards, the monkeys continued on their way. The wind was much more intense at this height, causing the flags and the raddled sails to flap about strongly. Carefully, they jumped from one yard onto another, always staying close together. But someone was watching their steps.

"Now!", a voice shouted from above.

All of a sudden, ropes were unrolled from the upper yard, making their way down to Diddy and Dixie. Kremlings started to jump off from above, clinging themselves to the ropes and gliding down. More and more were to come and they encircled the friends in no time. "It's an ambush!", Diddy shouted.

"Right you are! You won't escape this time!", one of the Kremlings responded. It seemed like he was proved right, since the height was too great to jump down and even Dixie could not have hovered all the way down at this altitude. "What business do you have here?", he demanded to know.

"Heh, as if we would tell you.", Diddy answered cool-headed.

Visibly angered, the Kremling drew his sword, pointed it at Diddy's face and yelled: "Speak! Or I won't give you another chance to do so!"

Another Kremling scrambled through the crowd. It was the captain, who rose his voice: "Calm down, no need to soil the ship with their blood. I have a better idea." With a grin, he nodded at the Kremlings behind the monkeys. A second later, Diddy and Dixie got knocked unconscious. Soon after, both monkeys found themselves in front of a hole. Kremlings stood around them in a big circle. Being pinioned by two of them, Dixie struggled and shouted: "Let go!"

The crocodiles laughed at her and the captain began to speak in a mocking way: "Oh no, we won't! Let me tell you where this fine hole here leads to. It leads right down to the _hold_, which is...", the captain made a small break there, then his voice turned serious, "Well, you are about to find out! Cast 'em in!" The monkeys got pushed straight into the hole. As they fell, everything that was left to hear of them were screams.

To Diddy, it felt like they were falling forever. "_Is this it?_", he thought, "_It was just about to start... we didn't reach anything!"_ He looked at Dixie. She covered her eyes with her hands. "_No, after all I told, promised her, I won't let it end here!"_

"Dixie!", he shouted. The girl opened her eyes and looked in his direction. "Hold on tight!", he exclaimed and stretched out his arm. The ponytailed monkey grabbed it slowly, vanquishing her fear as well as Diddy's. Both were smiling at each other as they fell into water, leaving a huge splash behind.

Their bodies were not moving. They were just sinking deeper and deeper, though their hands were still connected. Diddy regained consciousness and opened his eyes slowly. He spotted Dixie floating in the water next to him. She seemed still unconscious. Recapitulating what just happened, he startled. Reaching for the surface, Diddy swam upwards, using his legs and one arm to get forward while he was holding onto Dixie with his other arm. His eyesight started to darken soon and his lungs were burning. "_Not much breath left... Am I going to make it?"_, he wondered desperately. His limbs weakened and his senses faded away slowly. _"So... close..."_ Suddenly something greasy touched his body. A second later, Diddy felt like he was being lifted. All at once he surfaced and was able to breathe again. Gasping for air, he found himself and Dixie lying on a creature. By taking a closer look, Diddy recognized an old friend. "En... Enguarde?", he asked doubtingly.

"All present and at your service!", the creature responded.

Enguarde was a swordfish, who helped out back then, when the banana hoard was stolen. It goes without saying, that he was a good swimmer and his natural weapon rendered him a fierce fighter. His enthusiasm and kindness made him a invaluable friend.

Now Dixie regained her consciousness and looked around. "Huh? What's going on? Where are... Eeeek! What is that thing!", she asked with a fright.

"That _thing, _my dear girl, is a swordfish, which just saved your life. And I have a name, too, you know? I am Enguarde.", their savior explained himself, asking for some respect.

"That's right, if it weren't for him, we had drowned. I guess we are lucky, thanks a lot, Enguarde.", Diddy thanked him.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that I still feel a bit dizzy. My name is Dixie.", the girl apologized.

"But how did you find us here?", Diddy wanted to know.

Enguarde told them what he was doing here:

"Well, I heard about this whole incident at DK-Island. Cranky told me everything as I swam by to say hello. So I decided to help you guys out again and got going. As I reached this ship, I met Funky, who seemed to work on his barrel-thingie. He told me you were gone for quite a long time and that he was worried. After swimming around, I heard some talk, followed by screams. Recognizing your voice, Diddy, I swam into a crack in the ship. Lotsa Lockjaws were inside and needed a beating! Soon after, I saw your bodies floating in the water from a distance - and here we are now."

Diddy was relieved. "So, Funky is alright then?", he inquired.

"It seems so.", the swordfish replied calmly, "You know him, he always comes thorugh, somehow."

"This Kremling said, that this is the hold. Do you think you can take us out of here?", the chimp asked.

"Shouldn't be much of a problem. I think some troublemakers are still around here, though. Are you ready?", Enguarde wanted to make sure, that the monkey, and Dixie in particular, would not fall unsconscious again.

"I am!", Diddy approved.

"So am I!", Dixie followed suit.

"Okay, hold your breath, here goes nothing!", the fish exclaimed.

Since they were surrounded by different crates, chests and barrels, the only option to escape was to submerge. With high velocity, Enguarde rushed through the water. The monkeys clamped themselves onto his back, trying not to loose too much breath. "_Wow, this hold is quite big. I hope we reach the exit soon. Hey, what's that?"_, Diddy thought while checking out their rear, where he spotted some Lockjaws, "_As if this wasn't enough..._" Suddenly Enguarde stopped swimming. Diddy wondered and looked forward, seeing even more Lockjaws appearing.

"_It would take too much time to fight.", _Enguarde thought. He looked for a way to escape and spotted a niche behind the fish in front of him. "_I could try to fool them and then escape underneath."_ Diddy released some air bubbles and shut his mouth with his hand. Dixie was also struggling and released some air. The piranhas approached slowly. "_Damn it! It's the only opportunity I have." _Enguarde swam upwards, only to charge down again with much more speed. He managed to trick the Lockjaws slightly and gained just the edge he needed in order to escape. One of the fish tried to charge Enguarde but ended up chomping a barrel into pieces. The swordfish passed through the niche, still trailed by his enemies. He tried to limit his speed, as he did not want to risk to lose one of his friends. The greedy chomping sounds of the Lockjaws could be heard throughout the water. Enguarde's sight cleared as he nearly reached the exit. With a loud dash he was able to escape from the hold. He surfaced immediately and turned around, seeing that the Lockjaws had disappeared. "Yah, sure. Those cowards only hunt in tight places.", Enguarde said derisively.

The monkeys gasped for air. "We did it! Well, you did it... thank you!", Dixie laughed.

"That sure was a close call. I guess you saved us again.", Diddy thanked Enguarde.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right? So what now?", the swordfish asked.

"Well, we aren't done here yet. We still need to find something.", the chimp explained.

"That's what I wanted to hear! So let's find a way to get you back up there.", Enguarde said eagerly. They were situated at the keel now, having the bow at a close range.

"Hmm... hey, do you think we can climb up the anchor?", Dixie mentioned after a while. The rusty anchor was dropped, looking like a perfect opportunity to get back to the ship.

"We could give it a shot, I guess. Swim over there, Enguarde. Let's have a closer look.", Diddy requested. As they were floating in front of the anchor, the two monkeys examined it.

"You should be able to get to the captain's cabin from the chain locker.", Enguarde advised.

"Yeah, looks like it. What are you going to do now?", Diddy asked.

"Well, I have some business left to attend to. I will tell Funky that you are alright. Guess you both are smart enough not to get caught again, eh?", the fish answered with a chuckle.

"I don't think they will do the same thing over again, anyway.", Diddy responded with a wink, "Dixie, are you coming?"

"Right away!", she answered.

After seeing off their lifesaver, the monkeys made their way up the anchor. Its chain rustled as Diddy, who was followed by Dixie, climbed up. Slipping through the hole, the chain led through, both monkeys went through the chain locker until they came to a staircase. Ensuring themselves there was not a single Kremling around, Diddy and Dixie caught sight of their target. "So this is it?", Dixie wondered.

"Yup, let's just hope we'll find something useful in there. This trip was quite troublesome as it is.", Diddy moaned.

The girl had to giggle. "You talk like this is the end already."

"I am not! I just hope we didn't go through all of this for nothing.", he defended himself, "Anyways, we should continue, unless you want to get shoved into some holes again.", he offered with a sarcastic undertone.

"Fine, fine! I am coming!", Dixie agreed and grinned.

They approached the captain's cabin. Its door was big and fortified with two steely boards. Diddy was barely able to reach the doorknob due to the door's height, so he jumped on a barrel and opened it. Once they were inside, the monkeys closed the door behind them and examined the cabin carefully. The room had four windows on the left side, their patterns shaped chequer. At the wall in front of the monkeys hung a picture of , who looked like a king, wearing a crown. An old fashioned candle chandelier dangled from the ceiling, giving the impression to fall off anytime. Some crates and chests, on which a saber and a crown leaned atop, were stacked in the corner left to Diddy. Lastly, a desk with many drawers stood in the middle of the room. Its surface was empty and abrasive.

"Ugh, what's that stench!", Dixie wrinkled her nose.

"Now that you mention it... this is sick!", Diddy agreed, "Whatever, look out for something useful.", he said with an irritated voice.

Dixie went to the stack, not sure what to look for exactly. She opened a chest, which appeared to be empty. Then the girl took the crown and looked at it. There were some letters carved in on the inside: "_King K. Rool_". After placing it down, she looked at the picture. "Say, Diddy. The letter you found back then... It said _Captain_ K. Rool, didn't it?", she asked her friend, who was occupied with searching the drawers.

Diddy stopped and focused his attention at Dixie. "Umm... yes, I believe. Why do you ask?", he wondered.

"Because on this picture, he doesn't really look like a pirate or something in that direction at all. Also, the letters on this crown say _King_ K. Rool., she doubted.

Diddy admitted the fact, that he did not pay much attention to that kind of detail and viewed the picture. "Yes, you're right. Now that you mention it, he was dressed as a king, when we fought him here. I have no idea what's up with that.", he said after a while, "Anyways, let's go on. There's no point in thinking about that now. We are in a hurry!"

"Yeah, I know.", Dixie sighed and raked into more chests.

Diddy was done with the last drawer and found nothing but useless things. Then, after bumping his head into the edge of the table by accident, he noticed a small switch, which stuck out. "I wonder...", he mumbled. After pushing it without giving it any further thought, a piece at the bottom side of the desk drew back. "A mechanism, eh?", he grabbed at the hole, touching something that felt like paper. After pulling it out, it appeared to be a page of a book. It was timeworn and filthy, yet the words could be read clearly. "Hey Dixie! I think I found something, come over here!", Diddy nearly shouted out of anticipation.

Dixie, who was playing around with the saber, ran to Diddy. "What is it?", she asked.

"I found this here, let's read it.", he responded.

"... _Only a true pirate deserves to enter the core. Within rests a weapon, used to conquer the oceans in former times. Its power is widely feared, for it is capable to tear apart anything in its path. Now it has been sealed away, yet it waits for awakening. The key to the weapon lies in two challenges: For one, you have to unbolt the gate, only to be done by a special object. Thereupon, you need to cross the dangerous landscape inside of it, as five altars are to be reactivated by the very same item. Once reactivated, the core will open up and the seal will be broken. The object needed for this process is a golden fruit, hanging down in big shrubs, growing on giant trees. ... "_

The writing ended there. Diddy turned the page around and found a map. It seemed like it described the way to the gate the book was referring to, which appeared to be located on Crocodile Island. "Golden fruit... big shrubs... could it be?", he mumbled.

"You mean the banana hoard?", Dixie asked.

"Yes. So maybe that's why Cranky always considered it a treasure. I wasn't aware of that! I never had thought that these bananas were this precious.", Diddy said, the look of surprise on his face.

"So we are done here, aren't we?", Dixie threw him out of his thoughts.

"Well, that's all we found here and it's better than nothing. Now we need to head back to Funky. When we get back, I'd like to ask Cranky a thing or two." Diddy responded while pouching the page and opening the door. Once outside, it started to darken, and rain along with fog made it difficult to see.

"Oh great!", Dixie moaned.

Hmm... looks pretty familiar.", Diddy wondered with a low voice.

"Huh? What did you say?", Dixie demanded to know.

The chimp viewed the mast in front of him. He looked upwards, wondering what he might see there. However, the circumstances interfered. "Ahh... never mind. Come, we are almost done with this.", he tried to change the subject and went ahead.

"There he goes again...", Dixie sighed and followed him. They stuck to the railing, heading back to the stern. After recognizing the voices of a few Kremlings, the monkeys hid away behind some barrels, which were stacked nearby, remaining silent. The crocodiles were walking in the direction of them, complaining about the weather, which had worsened by now. Dark clouds were filling the sky almost entirely, the wind became stronger, its breezes getting colder and colder. More rain was to come, showering the whole area with water. High tide was about to begin. The water surface increased in no time, taking the Gangplank Galleon along. The sea got turbulent, pounding the ship's hull with its waves. Thus, the wrecked ship began to shake even stronger. Different things such as crates and barrels were literally hurled around, as well as the hidout of the monkeys, which got thrown overboard. The three Kremlings, which seeked stability in the railing, noticed them with startled faces.

"How did they manage...", one of them said in wonderment. "Stop wasting time, get them!", the second one yelled. With that, the three of them charged Diddy and Dixie.

"Of course we have to deal with them one more time before we could leave...", Diddy sighed languidly.

"Umm... shouldn't we get away now?", Dixie liked to make clear.

"Right, come!", Diddy agreed. Turning around and heading back the way they came, they almost slipped and fell, as the ground was slick due to the rain. Still pursued, the Kongs were back at the door from earlier. Trying to get rid of their pursuers, the monkeys rushed up the stairs, which were leading to the end of the bow. Diddy pulled a face as though he was annoyed. "You know, Dixie, I'm tired of running away all the time. Since they are only three, I think we could risk to take them out.", his eyes were filling with excitement, "Are you coming?"

"I was wondering the whole time, where the action in this adventure has gotten to, anyway. Geez, sure I am!", the girl agreed excitedly.

The Kremlings suddenly stopped in front of the staircase, as they heard something rumbling. A barrel fell down the ledge, right onto the head of the Kremling standing in the middle. Then, Diddy jumped off the same ledge, landing on the knocked out Kremling and performing a cartwheel to the left, hitting his target with his feet in the face. Surprised, and thus unable to move, the last Kremling could not do much against Dixie, who was high up in the air and hovering down to him, using her momentum to deliver a kick into his face, ending up falling down to the floor and seeing her enemy lying unconscious on the ground. "Heavens, that felt good!", Dixie grinned triumphantly.

"Three unconscious Kremlings lying in front of the cabin. Now that looks good to me.", Diddy agreed. Enjoying their victory for a moment, the shaking of the ship put them back to the current situation immediately. "Okay, let's get outta here!", Diddy urged. As soon as they turned their backs to the cabin, more Kremlings appeared in front of them, making fast approaches.

The one in the blue coat was also present. "Well, well, look who we've got here. It seems like I underestimated you. You sure are persistent. I won't do the same mistake again, though.", he spoke and made a hand sign. A second later, the Kremling crowd got ready to attack.

"You gotta be kidding...", Diddy doubted.

Then Dixie grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "Don't just stand there, we need to get back off.", she told him hastily and ran to the end of the bow.

"Back off, you say? There's not much more place left to back off to!", Diddy noted.

"Well, looks like our last option would be to get up there.", the girl pointed at the mast, which was attached to the bow, and rose her finger up to the end of it.

"Up there? Do you know how dangerous it is, when a storm is around!", the chimp exclaimed.

"Well, certainly. But the Kremlings there won't hesitate to use their swords, once they got us. Got a better idea?", Dixie responded.

Diddy was quiet for a second. He looked up the mast, being overwhelemd by a strange, yet familiar feeling. "You're right! Let's do this!", he answered finally.

Climbing up the mast, using the ropes and hooks attached to it, Diddy and Dixie tried to escape from the Kremlings. The wind did not intend to cease, and neither did the rain. Getting higher and higher, Dixie held on for a moment, wondering at their enemies were up to. "They don't follow us anymore!", she shouted, so that Diddy was able to hear it.

"That's no surprise given the current circumstances. It's crazy to climb up here with such weather conditions!", Diddy replied.

"Yeah, most likely... but why do they keep staring at us like that? Do they wait for us to fall off or what?", the girl wondered.

"Captain, shouldn't we go below deck?", one of the Kremlings asked, as he was trying to figure out, why his leader remained so calm.

The captain, who had crossed his arms, responded: "Don't worry, just lean back and enjoy the show..." Having said that, he grinned.

After a short while, both monkeys reached the top yard of the mast. They could not believe their eyes, as they gazed upon what was in front of them. Especially Diddy was startled. A giant bird-nest, filled with plenty of eggs fitting its size, had been built on the very top of the mast. Suddenly, two large-sized claws grasped for them, only missing their targets by a few inches, because they were able to duck in the last second. Then, a large Necky landed on the nest, watching Diddy and Dixie with its mad eyes. On top of its head was a big pirate hat with a skull and two crossed bones on it. The bird was wearing a black pirate suit, frapped with a brown belt, hiding the feather coat. Its beak started out with a dark-yellow and changed to a deep red at the tip. The Necky dug into the edge of the next with its long and sharp talons, watching the monkeys from on high. "So you are the ones that are causing this mischief here.", it screeched, "I don't know what your plans are, but let me assure you, that I will put an end to it!" After finishing this sentence, the Necky flapped with its wings to ascend into the air, preparing for an attack.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, where's the problem?", Diddy asked with an intimidated voice, "Are you with the Kremlings?"

Without answering, the bird dived down to the monkeys, who jumped out of its range. "I am Krow, you don't need to know anything more.", it said. Now Diddy was on the left side of the yard, Dixie on the right.

"What are we going to do?", the girl asked. Dixie was scared, as she had no idea about what to do.

"Watch out!", Diddy shouted. Krow flew right towards the ponytailed monkey, trying to impale her with her sharp beak. While trying to evade the attack, the girl slipped off the yard. She barely managed to save herself by grabbing a rope, which was used to affix the sails. As she climbed back up, Krow went for Diddy, trying to scratch him with her talons. The bird used both claws, attacking in a pattern, which did not leave any room for a break. The claws were lunging forward alternately, trying to scratch the chimp into pieces. Diddy was driven back, a step with each lunge of the claws, evading them by either dodging them or carthwheeling backwards. As he reached the end of the yard and was about to be pushed over, Krow began to attack him with both claws. Diddy was able to tell the exact moment he had to jump and did so in the direction of Krow, grabbing the downside of her right wing and swinging forth with this momentum to land behind the Necky. Feathers were floating all over the place, being blown away by the wind, while the giant bird released a screech of pain: "I will get you for that!".

Diddy turned around, his face expressed no emotions. As Krow charged him once again, he stayed calm. A giant egg fell right on the beak of the pirate bird, bending it downward. The Necky was visibly surprised and fell due to the impact. Regaining her position a second later, Krow noticed someone in between her eggs. It was Dixie, who had pushed one of them off the nest, when the bird was beneath it. With eyes glimming full of anger, Krow was now focusing Dixie. The girl stayed on the nest until the bird approached with enough velocity. She jumped off onto the yard to Diddy, and Krow, who realized too late, that she was blinded by rage, crashed into it. The monkeys watched the bird, lying dazed on top of the mast. "My eggs... my...wonderful...eggs... they're all broken", Krow stumbled, "No... you filthy... you will... PAY!"

Arising from the demolished nest, screeching in pain, Krow pointed her rage at Diddy and Dixie. She ascended into the air once again. A bolt of lightning flashed along the blanket of clouds, followed by rumbling thunder. As it ended, the Necky dived down. The monkeys frowned, getting ready to avoid yet another direct attack. Although Dixie managed to safe herself, the bird hit Diddy at his upper right arm with one of her talons, scratching it open. He groaned in pain, covering his wound with his left hand.

"Diddy! You okay!", Dixie shouted with a dismayed expression on her face. At the same moment, the Necky turned around and prepared for another attack. She aimed for the chimp, trying to push him off the ledge. Diddy stifled his pain and jumped sideways in the last moment. Flying around the mast, Krow charged Dixie from the other side. The girl jumped and, to the surprise of both Dixie and Krow, she landed on the back of the bird. Now it changed to a vertical position while ascneding into the air, which made Dixie fall off if she had not grabbed the belt of Krow's suit. Trying to shake the monkey off, she joggled and flew around hastily. Dixie screamed, as she lost more and more grip. Diddy climbed up onto the broken nest. He jumped off and managed to cling himself on the neck of the bird. Ascending higher into the air, Krow was now right above the mast. With the approach of a looping, she suddenly stopped moving. She fell down straight and the monkeys jumped off onto the nest, watching the Necky falling in wonderment. Crashing into the deck of the Gangplank Galleon, Krow was defeated. A single moment of silence passed by, while the rain showered the event.

"Did we make it?", Dixie asked quietly as she stood right beside Diddy.

"Seems like it...", Diddy answered while covering his wound.

The girl looked sad. "Does it hurt much?", she asked with a worried voice.

"Not that much, it's bearable. Thanks anyway.", the chimp tried to calm the girl.

"I see... you know, I feel strange. So that's a fight, like the one you told me in your story, right?", she inquired quietly again.

"Yes, I know how you feel now. But don't relax yet...", Diddy got interrupted by a cannon shot, which hit the mast on the monkeys were standing. "What the...!", he wondered.

The Kremlings, which were astounded about the event that had just occurred, had set up a cannon and shot at the monkeys. "Don't let them escape with that. They have killed Krow!", the captain shouted angrily. The bombardment continued and the mast broke eventually. The monkeys screamed as they fell along with it into the water. The weather began to normalize gradually. Being unconscious, Diddy and Dixie, who were laying on broken wooden pieces and barrels, were washed away by the currents... towards _Crocodile Island_.


	4. Hot Head Hop

**Chapter 4 - Hot-Head Hop**

The sky had changed back to a nice, cloudless blue. Calm breezes rushed along the ocean, carrying a salty flavour within. Being edged by a small shore, a rock face built itself up aloft, being only a small part of a huge isle. Completly encased by water at one side and a wall out of rocks at the other side, the only possibility to get away from this place would be either by ship, or by risking a look into the cave, which entrance was shaped like a big crocodile's head and shot out of the escarpment. It even had two small and two big holes, resembling the nose and the eyes of a crocodile. The entrace was gleaming reddishly on the inside, while big white wads of smoke were floating out of it. Some crates have been washed up, as well as some wooden boards, which seemed to be broken apart from something. Two little monkeys lay on this shore, awakening at a slow pace.

Diddy opened his eyes slowly. With a little blurry sight, he began to stand up and tried to recall what happened. His muscles hurted, the wound Krow gave him in particular. Glancing along the surroundings, the chimp noticed Dixie lying unconscious at the other end of the shore. He staggered along the sand, trying to wake his friend. After jarring her body around a bit, she opened her eyes.

"You alright, Dixie?", he asked. The girl steadied herself on the hands, raising her chest.

She looked exhausted and clapped her eyes on Diddy. "What... What happened...?", the girl wondered.

Sitting down next to her and crossing his arms while having a thoughtful face, Diddy responded: "I'm not sure. The last thing I can remember was the fight with Krow. After we managed to defeat her.", he deliberated for a few seconds, "Well, I don't know."

Dixie looked around for a while. She spotted the rock face and followed its way with her eyes for a short moment. Then she lowered her head again and picked up some sand from the ground,l etting it flow through her hand. "This place...", she mumbled to herself.

"Hm? What did you say?", Diddie wondered.

"...Huh? Oh, it's nothing.", the girl responded silently.

Suddenly her stomach started to rumble. After it came to an end, the girl had a startled look and began to blush. "I'm hungry, I guess.", Dixie grinned embarrassedly and placed her hands on her belly.

"No surprise. We didn't get to eat since we landed on the Gangplank Galleon. I am hungry as well.", Diddy explained.

Then both monkeys spotted the three crates, which had been washed up, and stared at them for a few seconds. "Well, you never now.", Diddy reckoned suddenly.

"True. Anything could be in there.", Dixie agreed.

At the same moment, they sprang up and ran towards the water, pulling the crates out. A strong, condimental scent rose out of the first one they opened, which happened to be filled with all kinds of different fish. The monkeys wrinkled their noses and shutted the crate again immediately. Leaving it behind, they opened the second one. It did not weigh much and the fears of the monkeys were realised, as the crate was totally empty. Pulling faces expressing hope and despair at the same time, Diddy and Dixie broke the last crate open. Both releasing a sigh of relief, the monkeys smiled and rejoiced in the loads of fruits, which had been kept inside. Apples, pears and even a few bananas waited for them. Even though they were not in the freshest condition, the two still enjoyed eating them and dug in. As the crate was almost emptied, Diddy and Dixie sat down in front of the warming cave. The girl hugged her knees and the chimp crossed his arms behind his head, laying down and stretching his legs. The night was about to come and some stars were already hanging down from the dark blue sky.

"We don't have much time to spare here... let's rest a little and then go onwards, through the cave.", Diddy mentioned quietly.

Dixie looked at him and sighed. "Yeah, you are right. But...", she said with the same low voice,

"Don't you think you are a bit too hectic?"

Diddy wondered and looked in Dixie's eyes. "What do you mean by that?", he asked calmly.

"Well, of course we need to hurry. But if we overdo it, we might end up getting caught too, or even worse, one of us could get killed... We don't even know what's ahead of us", the girl responded and remained silent afterwards.

Diddy's eyes opened up widely now, as he was stunned for a second.

"You may be right on that point. But, something's bugging me the whole time. The morning before Donkey got abducted... I promised him something after we had a little argument. However, I didn't get to fulfill it, because of this whole story here. That's why I intend to finish this quickly.", he said.

Then Dixie sighed again and began to speak: "You know, when we were falling down the hole, on the Gangplank Galleon... I was so frightened... I really thought, that we were going to die. But you somehow managed to make this fear vanish. As soon as you gave me your arm and touched my hand, I took heart again. I want to thank you for that.", she was quiet for a few seconds. "In addition, you make this journey so exciting. It's very different from what I had thought of an adventure, although we haven't reached much by now. I'm glad I came along and I don't want to be separated from you now. I trust you, Diddy.", the girl said and waited for Diddy to respond.

Being quiet for a moment, as Diddy did not really know how he should feel now, he suddenly raised his head and looked at the sky. Then, he focused his eyes on Dixie and said: "You know, that really is a new side you are just revealing. Where is the energetic girl, that I met on DK-Island? You were ever so full of energy and enthusiasm. And now you are thanking me over and over again, sitting here and talking about being hectic.", he said in an annoyed manner.

Dixie felt offended and wanted to defend herself. But as soon as she intended to, Diddy interrupted her: "Many thanks."

As she heard these two words, the girl forgot what she wanted to yell. Her face had a startled look and she was confused, as she had not expected such a statement at this rate.

Then Diddy went on: "If it weren't for you, I would have failed already on the very beginning. You're like the only friend I have right now. I'm way gladder than you are. Heh, and now I feel stupid, because I want to rush through this cave, not knowing if it will lead us to anywhere useful... and risking to lose you at the same time."

He sighed at the end of this sentence and tried to stand up, but he got overthrown by Dixie, whose anger had turned into happiness. She hugged him and had a smile on her face.

Then the girl giggled and said: "Now you are the one, who reveals another side of himself!", her voice turned serious, "No, really, I think I can understand how you feel about this. But, let's just rest for the night, okay? It will do us good."

Diddy, who had fallen into blushing again, agreed with her, as he could not really say "no" now. For one, Dixie had a point there. They needed to rest at least for a night. Plus, it is difficult for him to refuse her anything, especially when she smiled like that. The night got colder and the monkeys sat back to back in front of the warming cave entrance. Both hugging their knees to gain a bit more warmth, they finally dropped their heads down and fell asleep.

The next morning, Diddy found himself lying on the sand, alone. Dixie had gone to the water, bathing her feet in it. She was just about to put her hair in a ponytail again, the eyes focused on the sea and the hands fumbling on the back of her head. Diddy got up and walked in the direction the girl stood.

He greeted her sleepily: "'Morning..."

Dixie, who had just finished her hair, looked behind and spotted him, responding: "Good morning, sleepyhead!"

Diddy yawned and stretched his arms. Then he looked in the crate from yesterday. There were still some fruits inside.

"You've eaten already?", the chimp inquired.

"Yep, go ahead.", the girl affirmed.

So did the chimp. The crate was entirely empty now, and the monkeys were ready to go. Diddy put on a serious face and said with a loud and energetic voice: "Alright, let's do this!" Strengthened and rested, both monkeys ventured into the cave. Little did they know, what kind of adventures were lying ahead.

Stalacmites were piercing through the rough ground, impeding the way of the two friends. Gleaming reddishly and being festooned with awkward formations of cracks, the walls to the left and right tightened the deeper the monkeys walked in. Yet the ceiling was at a constant height, leaving enough space for the size of twice as Diddy's. At the end of this path was a hole, which allowed a glance into the center of the cave. It got hotter at a gradual rate, and the walls gleamed more intense, now that the monkeys struggled through the way and stood right before the hole. Diddy and Dixie already knew what was causing all this heat, but still, they were startled as they got sight of it: A red ocean, consisting of glowing magma, coursed through in front of their eyes. Columns of smoke arose from it, evaporating into the huge chamber. Some stone fragments swam on the surface, shrinking little by little every second due to the heat. Several cracks in the scarp, opening gates for more magma to flow into the chamber, graced the picture. A little path descended from the hole the monkeys were looking from, curving around the rocks, which had survived until now, and vanished behind a wall.

"So that's the way we got to go...", Diddy mentioned while surveying the chamber, "This seems pretty dangerous. Especially this _bridge_ looks very brittle to me."

Dixie nodded. "But we don't have another choice."

"Right.", the chimp sighed, "We should be careful, falling down here means certain death."

Dixie's face turned baffled and she screamed: "I know that! Don't try to scare me more than I already am!"

"Haha, okay, I am sorry. C'mon, let's take it slowly", Diddy laughed and took the lead. The girl watched him for a few seconds, still wondering where the seriousness of her friend had gone, and got going too.

With slow paced steps they walked along the path, being careful not to make a wrong move. Tiny stones lay on the ground, lowering the foothold. The noises caused by the constant flowing and moving of the magma made them a little nervous, and also the heat was fatigueing. As the bridge got nearer to the viscous mass, it connected to the stone wall and ascended again. However, there was a big hole in between the connection. Diddy, having a determined look, kicked the tiny stones away, took a few steps back and ran. As soon as he had reached the ledge, he jumped. After landing only a few inches after the magma, he turned around and grinned at Dixie, like he was inviting her to make a leap too. The girl did not want to look as though she was scared and took a running jump as well. She was not able to get as far as Diddy, but she made up for it with her ponytail. Starting to hover at the highest point, she slowly reached the spot where her friend awaited her. The girl sighed and looked towards the ascending path.

"We are not done yet.". she said and took the lead this time.

Now that the way was connected with the stone wall, it was safer to go. With one hand grabbing at the rocks, Dixie felt secure and increased her walking speed. Diddy did not mind, and both monkeys struggled along the way at a smart pace. After becoming flat again, the stone floor, still connected to the wall, formed a large curve shaped like an arc and ended at another hole, which seemed to be a good place to rest for a short while. A smile of relief was put on Dixie and she intended to walk even faster. She could not stand the heat for long anymore. Diddy felt alike and followed up. The girl nearly ran, and as she had passed the first quarter of the arc, the ground under her feet moved and eased eventually. She fell down, releasing a screech out of surprise and terror. Merely the right hand of hers managed to cling itself to the rest of the bridge in front of her. The piece she stood on a second ago sank into the red ocean, leaving nothing but a small coloumn of gas. Diddy, having watched the event, was shocked at first, yet recollected fast and rushed to his friend. He jumped over the hole, turned around and looked at the frightened girl. "Give me your hand!", he shouted after bending down and stretching his left arm towards Dixie. Her free hand slowly reached for Diddy's, with a body trembling of trepidation. As their hands connected, the piece she was clinging on to broke apart, causing another flash of adrenaline in the ponytailed monkey. But Diddy did not let go. Using both arms to gain more grip, he mobilized all of his power to pull his friend up. His limbs started to hurt and his wound caused more pain than it ever did before. Sweat dripped off his forehead and with a last exertion of force and the efforts of Dixie, the girl struggled onto the floor, gasping.

"Whew... that was... close!", the ponytailed monkey mentioned a few seconds after calming down a little, still lying on her belly.

"True... you are just too careless.", Diddy reproached her jokingly, relaxing his body and covering the injury with one hand.

"Me? Oh, sorry! Sorry for trying to get out of here.", Dixie responded ironically. Then she tended to the chimp and apologized: "I'm sorry, what about your injury?"

"It's alright, I'll get through", he assured her.

Finishing this sentence, both monkeys stood up and intended to go on, but as soon as they took a step forward, the ground under their feet began to crack again. A fissure appeared and grew second by second. Several small parts of the path fell apart, stampeding the two friends. Without a word, directed by instinct, they got in stance, using legs as well as arms to escape the approaching danger. As if it could not get any worse, some of the stalactites also began to fissure, breaking away from the ceiling and raining down on the two monkeys. While dashing for the promising-looking shelter, they had trouble avoiding the rain of igneous rocks and had a few close calls, as they nearly got hit. Diddy jumped off the ledge, aiming for the hole. Dixie was right behind him, following up. The chimp rolled his body on the ground to leave space for the girl, who hovered across the gap and landed next to him.

"Was that it? I've had enough!", she gasped.

"Come on, I told you it wouldn't be a cakewalk.", Diddy responded.

"Fine, fine. I'm not lamenting! It's just, that was really something there...", Dixie mumbled, still intimidated.

"Haha, I suppose so. Are you ready to go on?", the chimp inquired.

"Sure am!", Dixie said eagerly. However, as she looked at Diddy fighting against the pain, her enthusiastic mien changed. "But.. a more important question is, are you ready to go on? How's your wound?"

The chimp groaned a little. He stood up and signalized the girl to follow him. While looking over his shoulder, he said: "I've experienced worse."

Dixie wanted to yell at him, but Diddy managed to render her speechless once again. Her eyes expressed more worry than words could ever do. Yet, she was unable to refuse, unable to talk back to him. Not now, not at this rate.


End file.
